I have noticed that people tend to vote on their friends debate and are more likely to vote for their friend, and people with more friends tend to have higher elo's. I know that correlation does not imply causation and that it is not a perfect correlation, but I am curios if anyone else noticed a pattern.

It makes sense if you think about it. People want to judge debates of like minded people. People tend to agree with the arguments of like minded people. So it would make sense having more like minded friends could help you win more votes.

So what do you all think, does having more friends help you win debates?

At 11/4/2014 1:51:11 PM, RainbowDash52 wrote:I have noticed that people tend to vote on their friends debate and are more likely to vote for their friend, and people with more friends tend to have higher elo's. I know that correlation does not imply causation and that it is not a perfect correlation, but I am curios if anyone else noticed a pattern.

It makes sense if you think about it. People want to judge debates of like minded people. People tend to agree with the arguments of like minded people. So it would make sense having more like minded friends could help you win more votes.

So what do you all think, does having more friends help you win debates?

Yes, having more friends or a bigger reputation does help you win close debates. It's unfortunate but it does happen. With that being said, ELO is still a good indicator of skill.

At 11/4/2014 1:51:11 PM, RainbowDash52 wrote:I have noticed that people tend to vote on their friends debate and are more likely to vote for their friend, and people with more friends tend to have higher elo's. I know that correlation does not imply causation and that it is not a perfect correlation, but I am curios if anyone else noticed a pattern.

It makes sense if you think about it. People want to judge debates of like minded people. People tend to agree with the arguments of like minded people. So it would make sense having more like minded friends could help you win more votes.

So what do you all think, does having more friends help you win debates?

I think it helps you get votes on debates, not win debates. I have had some of my best friends vote against me countless times on a few of mine in a spot where the debate flipped the other way or almost flipped the other way.